Never forget how powerful a simple gesture can be.
This week's round-up of acts of kindness truly highlights that sentiment, with several stories showing the impact a small moment can have, including a video that went viral thanks to the beautiful bond between two brothers. (Seriously, we dare you to watch it without crying.)
From Gigi Hadid's surprisingly sweet Starbucks moment—which you will definitely end up thinking about while picking up your caramel frapp this weekend—to the inventive and inspiring way a teacher is welcoming back her students, it really is the little things that can have the biggest meaning sometimes.
Of course, that doesn't mean a grander gesture isn't worth celebrating as well, with an NFL star making a huge contribution to his community after landing a massive contract. Now that's worthy of an end zone dance.
As always, take what you need...
Meena Kumar, a 14-year-old who was adopted at the age of two after being left in a basket on a college campus in India, has found her passion helping senior dogs find their forever homes. Through her own pet-sitting business called Pet Fairy Service, she has raised over $14,000 for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, a San Francisco-based non-profit.
"It feels great to know that I have saved my dogs' lives and given them another chance to enjoy their last years of living," she told Today. "I feel like all dogs should get a forever home just like I did."
You might want to grab a tissue now because this heartwarming video of two brothers will probably make your eyes rain.
Will Claussen shared the unique way he asked his brother, Henry Claussen, to be the best man at his wedding: hiding a bottle with a very special message in it, having Henry dig it up from the backyard.
"Henry Joe, you are the best brother, and my very best friend, so you will say yes and be my best man, please," the note read. Henry's reaction? Well, it's just priceless.
After it was shared by former basketball player Rex Chapman on Twitter, the video went viral, receiving more than 3.9 million views.
Just keep on truckin'! To help put her kindergarten students at ease when they returned to school amid COVID-19, Texas teacher Jennifer Birch Pierson decided to turn all of their desks into six-wheelers.
The colorful trucks, spaced six feet apart, made use of the plastic protectors, now transformed into windshields. Sharing a photo of her classroom on Facebook, Pierson wrote she was "making lemonade from some very sour lemons."
No good deed should go uncaffeinated. Just ask Gigi Hadid.
"Person in front of me in the Starbucks drive thru just payed [sic] for my order," the supermodel and mom-to-be tweeted. "So kept it going and hope it continues & spreads lots of lil moments of kindness & positivity today! DO THIS in whatever way you can !!!!"
Now that's, uh, one direction we all can follow. (Sorry, Zayn!)
"The community takes care of itself."
And community refrigerators are helping people all across the country, especially in New York. The mutual aid initiative places fridges in neighborhoods to provide access to free food to anyone in need, as well as allow others to donate products.
"This is solidarity, not charity," grad student and initiative organizer Aditi Varshneya told E! News. "The fact of the matter is the majority of us are a whole lot closer to being hungry than to being millionaires...everyone deserves food, food is a basic human right."
The refrigerators are popping up across the country, with local volunteers organizing the exchanges.
If you just signed a four-year, $57 million contract, what would be your first purchase?
For NFL star Travis Kelce, it was a building to help give back to the Kansas City community, specifically young people in the inner-city, through his foundation, Eighty-Seven & Running.
"I am purchasing the building that will be the future home of the 'Ignition Lab: Powered by 87 & Running,'" the tight end wrote on his website, "a co-working space where these teens will have the support, resources, and opportunity to explore careers in STEM, launch their own entrepreneurial ventures and gain real-world experience."
A winning move if we've ever seen one.